Roads to Appalachia through England and Wales 2008

An important part of the folklore-folklife academic offerings has been a series of study abroad programs to the homelands of emigrants to Appalachia, such as travels to Scotland , Ireland , and Italy . This June 2008 study will focus on the influences into North Central Appalachia from parts of England and Wales . Beginning and ending in London , the great city which controlled the flow of the colonists to so many areas of the world, the study will continue through the English south and west country from which many sailed, particularly the shipping center of Bristol . The oral traditions of King Arthur and the literary storytelling of William Shakespeare and Dylan Thomas will also be traced in both England and Wales . A major emphasis of the study will explore the rich cultural heritage of the Welsh, ranging from the old world coal industry, which developed many of the mining techniques used in our Appalachian mines, to the villages and countryside from which flowed the people that established communities bearing such Welsh names as Davis, Morgantown, and Shrewberry, West Virginia.